Team size: Seven

What are the most significant cases or transactions that you have been involved in over the past year?

I am housed by Scommerce – a holding company based in Vietnam. Scommerce holds nearly tensubsidiaries operating nationwide (63 provinces in Vietnam) with a focus on full stop shop last-mile logistics services, including express delivery under the renowned brand Giao Hang Nhanh (GHN, GHNExpress and GHNLogistics) and Ahamove. My legal team is tasked with handling all legal, compliance, litigation, and government affairs of these subsidiaries mostly with in-house resources.

Over the past year, I have played a pivotal role in logistics facility investment and construction. I advised logistics stakeholders on warehouse, sort center and hub reorganisation and expansion, including large-scale premises assessment, dealings with internal cross-functional stakeholders and external lessors to review or streamline lease contracts, strengthening robust risk measurement in critical logistics assets. One of our strategic logistics assets is an in-progress integrated warehousing-sortation center in the North of Vietnam with an acreage of 85,500m2, sorting scale of 278 million parcels per day, of which the legal team effective reviewed and negotiated the land lease agreement and a wide range of plant, design and build contractual documentation based on FIDIC, 2017 yellow book version.

Other significant achievements are that our team successfully supported financial stakeholders in $8.5m fund-raising for the purpose of sortation center project mentioned above.

What innovations have you made to the way your legal team works in the past year?

Over the past year, I have introduced several key innovations to improve the efficiency and amplification of legal team’s impacts on the business. Our team has developed a contract review process and a range of standardised contract forms with the readiness to serve diversified operations and business models serving SME, B2B and ecommerce customers. Additionally, the team has compiled a comprehensive set of memos and guidelines addressing corporate governance, business models like cash on delivery, international freight express delivery (inbound). These have been distributed to various functional departments within the group companies.

In terms of government affairs, as the logistics facilities and operations are located all over the country while the legal team is based centrally in Ho Chi Minh City, I take pride in building tracking tools to organise and streamline the legal team’s effective support in inspections andaudits at the national level with a strong and proactive mindset in dealings with various ministerial and provincial regulators with a focus on express delivery operations and network, pricing and promotional programs and antitrust matters. Additionally, I implemented a centralised legal document management system that organises and simplifies access to a large volume of corporate and operational documents. This innovation has drastically improved our response lead-times to both internal and external legal requests, allowing us to provide timely and effective support across the organisation. By enhancing our operational efficiency, the legal team reinforces its position as a trusted partner in driving compliance and facilitating business objectives.

Based on your experience, what is the key to collaborating successfully with business partners?

Collaborating successfully with business teams hinges on several key principles that foster effective communication and enable the legal team to stand as a trusted counsel. In the dynamic e-logistics sector where change is the only constant, beside establishing clear communications in terms of expectations and objectives from the outset, the legal team proactively engage with business and operations stakeholders to quickly catch up with evolving business models and leverage the operational resources. By doing so, we not only provide legal insights but also ensure that legal considerations are seamlessly integrated into business strategies, fostering a collaborative environment that drives innovation and compliance.

Which political, economic or regulatory changes have impacted your work the most in the past year?

The political and regulatory climate in Vietnam is changing significantly and impacting the legal and compliance landscape. There is a trend to strengthen the regulators’ governance of ecommerce platforms and e-logistics service providers with regards to tax compliance requirements, personal data protection and cybersecurity. In this context, the legal team plays a crucial role in guiding companies to establish a robust compliance culture. We advocate for regular reviews of operations and compliance matters, ensuring that organisations meet regulatory expectations. Additionally, the evolving landscape of real estate and land laws in Vietnam presents critical implications for logistics facility transactions. Our legal team is vital in navigating these complexities, helping businesses understand and adapt to new regulations.